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Girl abused by child at day care wins payout

Adrian Lowe, Rachel Wells

A Victorian girl sexually abused by another girl at day care suffers separation anxiety, nightmares and has difficulty learning. The child in this photo is a model. Photo: John Donegan

A five-year-old girl has won the right to ongoing counselling and a $9000 payout for being sexually abused by another child at a Victorian day care centre.

The girl was suffering considerably and blames herself for what happened, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal was told recently.

Between the ages of two and four, the girl was bullied by a girl several months older than her, who pulled the victim's hair, kicked her, hit her and put her hands tightly around her throat and tried to strangle her.

The victim was also forcefully undressed, including her underwear, and had her face and body licked. The older girl also used objects to sexually assault the victim and threatened to kill her if she told the teachers at the centre.

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The case came before VCAT after the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal refused the girl's application for an award of special financial assistance, although it had granted compensation for counselling and solicitors' fees. Police did not investigate because of the age of the perpetrator.

Dr Daryl Higgins, a child-abuse expert from the Australian Institute of Family Studies, said a lack of prevalence data on child sexual abuse meant it was difficult to determine how prevalent peer-to-peer sexual abuse in childcare facilities was.

''What we do know is that sexual abuse between children of a similar age is actually much more common than we'd previously thought,'' he said. ''We also know the context in which that can occur is usually an organisational setting where children are interacting, whether that be a day care centre, schools and other youth-related organisations.''

The Minister for Children and Early Childhood Development, Wendy Lovell, defended the state's handling of cases of child abuse in early years services.

The victim's mother testified that her daughter has severe separation anxiety, suffers from nightmares, a lack of self-esteem and has trouble learning and concentrating.

A child psychologist ranked the victim's anxiety as being among the highest levels seen in children.

VCAT deputy president Heather Lambrick ruled that the victim suffered a ''significant adverse effect'' from the bullying and violence and awarded her $9000. The maximum payment is $10,000.

The victim has also had 15 counselling sessions covered, at the cost of $2220, as well as the right to request funds for further counselling as she grows up.